The Kremlin dropped clear hints that Putin plans a swift return and Medvedev is first expected to usher through constitutional changes that would allow Putin to return to his old job for 12 more years, Russian paper Vedomosti quoted senior government sources, as saying.

Moscow- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for the extension the presidential term from four to six years in his first state-of-the-nation address since succeeding Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Medvedev, 43, addressing the country's top political elite, gathered in the Kremlin's opulent St George Hall, said the change would allow the government to carry through more effectively with its reforms.

Putin and Tymoshenko held the discussions in a Russian government country mansion in the village of Novo-Ogarevo, outside Moscow.

The top issue for the two prime ministers was gas shipments between the two countries, particularly Russian pricing for gas sold to Ukraine, and Ukrainian pricing for gas shipped by Russia via Ukrainian pipelines to European consumers.

Moscow- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told investors at a forum in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday that Russia would not play politics with its market and remained open to foreigners despite acrimony over its war with Georgia.

"Our ideology and politics remain the same," Putin told executives. "Confrontation is not our choice. There will be no politically motivated closing of our market or curbs on economic relations."